‘Public trust will erode if the police not focused handling Ahok’s case’

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The National Movement to Defend the Indonesian Council of Ulama’s Fatwa (GNPF MUI) has seen the police is not focused in handling the case of alleged religious blasphemy by Jakarta governor-inactive Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok).

At first, the police has said Ahok was not intended to insult Alquran surah Al Maidah verse 51 and ulamas who teach the verse. “And now, we heard the police want to trace sources of fund for the November 4th peaceful acts,” Treasurer GNPF MUI, M Luthfie Hakim, said to Republika.co.id on Wednesday (11/9).

Luthfie said such action could erode public trust in the government. Therefore, he urged the police to be focused and fair in processing Ahok’s case.

According to Luthfie, the police and government did not have to worry about rally in Jakarta. They should be worried if the acts has spread to all over the cities in Indonesia. “If all region in Indonesia hold simultaneous rally, I assume even if the police forces is tripled, they would not be able to handle it,” he remarked.

In harmony with the GNPF MUI statement, Din Syamsuddin as the chairman of Advisory Boards Indonesian Council of Ulama reminded the government, especially the law enforcement bodies, not to understate the religious blasphemy case. MUI has given its religious statement which is stronger than fatwa regarding Ahok’s case. “Ahok has insulted Islam and the Quran,” he stressed when opening the Boards’ meeting in MUI Building on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Al Washliyah chairman Yusnar Yusuf said Islamic organizations have tried to cool down the tension among the people. In return, he asked the government to process Ahok’s case seriously. “The person who insulted the Quran should be prosecuted fairly,” he said in a joint press conference with 17 Islamic organizations after a meeting with President Jokowi in State Palace in Jakarta, Wednesday night.

Previously, the House of Representatives Commission III planned to form supervisory team to oversee law enforcement on the case of November 4th riot. “We want to ensure no single citizen is harmed, criminalized, or dubbed black sheep to cover the guilty,” Commission III member Sufmi Dasco Ahmad on Monday (11/7)